Congress will place facts before people on coal issue: V Narayanasamy

ITANAGAR: Criticising the BJP for the washout of the Monsoon session of Parliament, government today said the Congress was placing the facts before the people to judge on the coal allocation issue.

"The BJP is resorting to mudslinging for political advantage which is detrimental for the nation's development, for which the Congress has decided to bring the facts and figures before the people to judge," Union Minister of State in the PMO, V Narayanasamy told reporters here.

Accusing the BJP of doublespeak, he said the opposition forced adjournment of Parliament for 13 days on the allocation of coal blocks causing huge loss to the exchequer by avoiding discussion on the issue as it would have exposed their "wrong doings".

The opposition was making the coal block allocation a political issue keeping in view the assembly elections due in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, the minister said.

The Prime Minister has constituted an inter-ministerial group headed by additional secretary in coal ministry Zohra Chatterjee to find lapses in the allotment and recommend steps and the report was awaited, he said.

Action would be taken against any wrong doing and allotment cancelled if required, he said at the press meet at which AICC general secretary Dhaniram Shandil and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Nabam Tuki, were also present.

Noting that 39 blocks were allotted by the NDA government from 1999 to 2004 "without following any guideline" and 59 blocks by UPA during 2004 to 2008, he asked why the BJP was not demanding cancellation of 39 blocks allocated during the NDA regime or resignation of chief ministers of BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Rajasthan besides Odisha.